I really really wish that show had survived. I don't get what they wanted from it, I mean the ratings weren't ever going to be stellar but it's sci fi for crying out loud. It was at least one step up from their usual pap.
Damn. Pretty fitting title. Especially consdiering the symmetry of every other Dresden title.
The complete destruction of everything in Harry's life, right up until his own death, was heartbreaking. It made a whole lot of sense, though, considering Harry's passion for the people in his life. The fact that he was doing it for his daughter, a daughter he didn't even know he had, really nailed the kind of person Harry is/was.
Ghost Story should be a very interesting follow-up, especially to see what it means for Harry's character. It's going to be a long wait, though. Luckily, Side Jobs comes out in October. And I still have Backup and Welcome to the Jungle to read. Those should keep me entertained for a little while longer. Plus, I just got my girlfriend to read Storm Front and she loved it, so I can't wait to see her thoughts when she gets further into the series. Now, I need to lend it to two other friends who expressed interest. . .
Anyways, anyone know where to get the hardcovers for a reasonable price? I got White Night through Turn Coat for a decent price off of Half.com, and I know I can get Summer Knight, Death Masks and Blood Rites. But, Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Dead Beat and Proven Guilty have all had some insane price tags. . .
So, I'm re-reading the series, and having just finished Fool Moon for the second time, I'm starting to ponder again some of the unexplained events that have happened in the books, and how they might come together in the remainder of the series (however long that takes).
So what are the outstanding issues to date? In a spoiler for those still working on the series, because I'll be dropping massive spoilers. Anyone who recalls something I've forgotten or wishes to clarify something I've included mistakenly, feel free to mention it.
Who trained the warlock in Storm Front? I don't believe that's ever specifically addressed, though later he does of course assume it's the Black Council.
Who gave the FBI agents their werewolf belts in Fool Moon? Again, assumed to be Black Council meddling later.
Who tried to run him off the road in one of the later books? (more black council? Though this seems awfully low magic for their usual shenanigans?)
Who killed him in Changes? (one assumes this will be dealt with in depth in Ghost Story next year)
What happened to The Word/Mavra at the end of Dead Beat? (I believe this was left hanging and hasn't been looked at since. I'm vaguely recalling that it might've been mentioned once in passing in one later book, but I don't believe it was ever looked at directly.)
Now, to that end, a few thoughts regarding upcoming books that are pure conjecture, but based on spoilers.
We've nodded at the food Harry ate when meeting with Odin as possibly being an 'out' in terms of how he might survive the end of Changes. What if all that necromantic power that Mavra snagged leads towards her being the one to revive/save Harry? Towards nefarious ends, of course. That said, Harry being under a supernatural being's thumb is a regular part of the series in one form or another, so it both has precedent and it's kind of played out.
And I think I know who will end up as part of the Black Council, if not leading it.
Justin.
Butcher is big on continuity, and any name, place, event, creature, spell or whatnot that's mentioned even in passing at one point in a book will likely become relevant in a later part of that book, or another book altogether. Justin's influence in Harry's life was immense, and obviously continues to the days of the stories, be it their duel (and his 'death') leading to the Doom of Damocles, or just Harry's recognition of the temptation of darker powers and his struggle not to give into those baser desires. I'm not saying this with 100% certainty, but he's one of the few background characters we've never actually had show up in one form or another that I can recall.
And finally, while I can't verify its authenticity, I just noticed on Wikipedia that names have been listed for a good half dozen future books.
Spoilered because... well, it seems to be the theme of this post.
Ghost Story (this we know)
Hell's Bells
Stars and Stones
Demon reach
Faerie Queens
Black Staff
Soul Fire
Swan Song
The End
If true, that gives us 9 more books to go. 10 if you include Side Jobs, 11 if you include Side Jobs 2 (which I believe was mentioned as being planned so Butcher could toss some things that didn't make it into SJ1 into print.
Forar on
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
One thing I've noticed over the course of the series is that the relative power of each supernatural being seems to be tied, in some way, to the way they are perceived by the world at large. That is, that the degree of power a supernatural being wields seems almost identical to the amount of respect / terror / awe they inspire.
Or, perhaps a more fitting description would be the degree in which they are worshiped?
For example, Odin's power is much weaker in modern day where he is not worshiped on a regular basis as opposed to earlier years where he was, well, a god. Same with Lea, her power invokes more tower than Maeves, allowing a 'regular' fairy to outmatch one of the queens. Finally, take a look at the evolution of Toot-Toot. He goes from a tiny insect like fairy to standing over a foot tall in the course of what, 8 years or so, almost entirely coinciding with his greater responsibilities towards Harry.
Definitely try reading past the first book. It is easily the slowest and least interesting of the series.
It serves to do nothing more than lay the groundwork for some of the characters, most of which is moot since Butcher includes sufficient introduction for the characters in pretty much every book, to cover any readers who don't start at the very beginning.
If Marcone became the next knight of the cross, that would be awesome. Especially since Butcher comments frequently on how well Marcone knows how to handle....a blade.
I think Marcone is essentially good, which seems to be the only real requirement outside of that other thing. I mean, yeah, he is a calculating and brutally efficient crime lord, but Sonya(?)
has far more crimes to his name and God still took him. Plus, Marcone seems to be growing a heart. I can't believe someone as smart as him overlooked the Demeter connection. Not to mention his apparent faith.
Of course, it'll never happen, but it would be the coolest thing.
Uh, Marcone is a crime lord. Good guy is off the menu at that point.
He's not evil, per say; He has a soft spot or two, and he is good to his word, but these are the more admirable characteristics in an otherwise cruel and ruthless criminal mastermind.
Definitely try reading past the first book. It is easily the slowest and least interesting of the series.
It serves to do nothing more than lay the groundwork for some of the characters, most of which is moot since Butcher includes sufficient introduction for the characters in pretty much every book, to cover any readers who don't start at the very beginning.
If Marcone became the next knight of the cross, that would be awesome. Especially since Butcher comments frequently on how well Marcone knows how to handle....a blade.
I think Marcone is essentially good, which seems to be the only real requirement outside of that other thing. I mean, yeah, he is a calculating and brutally efficient crime lord, but Sonya(?)
has far more crimes to his name and God still took him. Plus, Marcone seems to be growing a heart. I can't believe someone as smart as him overlooked the Demeter connection. Not to mention his apparent faith.
Of course, it'll never happen, but it would be the coolest thing.
Uh, Marcone is a crime lord. Good guy is off the menu at that point.
He's not evil, per say; He has a soft spot or two, and he is good to his word, but these are the more admirable characteristics in an otherwise cruel and ruthless criminal mastermind.
I think the second one's worse than the first one. You can comfortably skip it and move on, you won't miss anything important and you definitely, definitely shouldn't give up on the series.
You do get introduced to some recurring characters, but yah, you could probably skip it. I am one of those completionist people and can't bring myself to skip something ever.
Man, I finished Changes yesterday and lemme tell you, Jim Butcher can go fuck himself. Damn his cliffhanger endings, Its not fair!
Fantastic book though, the title is appropriate.
Harry as the white knight? Hes gonna fuck some bitches up with that power. Probly some bitches he cares about but doesnt "love" cause faeries are dicks like that. The Red Court is completely gone? Jesus, power vacuum is right, White court gonna be all up ins. Harry has a grampa? Kick ass! and of course the big one at the end, oh yeah? Harry died? Interesting. Guess hes gonna be a ghost wizard detective. But does this also free him from the white knight thing? I mean, he did die, but if hes gonna be doin stuff as a ghost would he still be all faerie-fied?
Fool Moon gets pretty damn intense. I've got my problems with some of Butcher's writing but Fool Moon is probably the best example of why I've stuck with it. Keep reading on, by the end you'll probably know whether or not you'll enjoy the rest.
I got over my issues with his writing once I started listening to Summer Knight. That process was probably aided by James Marsters' voice. I still roll my eyes every time I hear 'I infused an effort of will...' or some sexist damsel in distress spiel.
That's not an opinion to agree or disagree with. It's a fact that written word oftentimes doesn't work when spoken aloud. It's often necessary to paraphrase text from a book, or it can often sound akward or unnatural.
And you don't see how this point is relevant to listening to a book on tape? Is that what you're saying?
well ghost story's not out for several months yet so either you live in a backwoods country where Changes isn't out yet or you don't know how to use the English
That's not an opinion to agree or disagree with. It's a fact that written word oftentimes doesn't work when spoken aloud. It's often necessary to paraphrase text from a book, or it can often sound akward or unnatural.
And you don't see how this point is relevant to listening to a book on tape? Is that what you're saying?
Uh, no, that isn't a fact. In most instances, excepting stuff like Pynchon, if you can't read your material aloud and have the same general impression that you got from the text, it's poorly written. Of course something can sound terrible when read aloud. That's like saying 'My shirt can sometimes be blue, fact!' I'm saying that if it sounds terrible, it is terrible.
I really don't see how it's relevant to what I'm saying, no. I'm saying that Butcher's commonly repeated phrases and chauvinist spiel get to be tiresome. Apparently that's not true in the text version of the book?
That's not an opinion to agree or disagree with. It's a fact that written word oftentimes doesn't work when spoken aloud. It's often necessary to paraphrase text from a book, or it can often sound akward or unnatural.
And you don't see how this point is relevant to listening to a book on tape? Is that what you're saying?
Uh, no, that isn't a fact. In most instances, excepting stuff like Pynchon, if you can't read your material aloud and have the same general impression that you got from the text, it's poorly written. Of course something can sound terrible when read aloud. That's like saying 'My shirt can sometimes be blue, fact!' I'm saying that if it sounds terrible, it is terrible.
I really don't see how it's relevant to what I'm saying, no. I'm saying that Butcher's commonly repeated phrases and chauvinist spiel get to be tiresome. Apparently that's not true in the text version of the book?
Posts
Damn. Pretty fitting title. Especially consdiering the symmetry of every other Dresden title.
Ghost Story should be a very interesting follow-up, especially to see what it means for Harry's character. It's going to be a long wait, though. Luckily, Side Jobs comes out in October. And I still have Backup and Welcome to the Jungle to read. Those should keep me entertained for a little while longer. Plus, I just got my girlfriend to read Storm Front and she loved it, so I can't wait to see her thoughts when she gets further into the series. Now, I need to lend it to two other friends who expressed interest. . .
Anyways, anyone know where to get the hardcovers for a reasonable price? I got White Night through Turn Coat for a decent price off of Half.com, and I know I can get Summer Knight, Death Masks and Blood Rites. But, Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Dead Beat and Proven Guilty have all had some insane price tags. . .
So what are the outstanding issues to date? In a spoiler for those still working on the series, because I'll be dropping massive spoilers. Anyone who recalls something I've forgotten or wishes to clarify something I've included mistakenly, feel free to mention it.
Who gave the FBI agents their werewolf belts in Fool Moon? Again, assumed to be Black Council meddling later.
Who tried to run him off the road in one of the later books? (more black council? Though this seems awfully low magic for their usual shenanigans?)
Who killed him in Changes? (one assumes this will be dealt with in depth in Ghost Story next year)
What happened to The Word/Mavra at the end of Dead Beat? (I believe this was left hanging and hasn't been looked at since. I'm vaguely recalling that it might've been mentioned once in passing in one later book, but I don't believe it was ever looked at directly.)
Now, to that end, a few thoughts regarding upcoming books that are pure conjecture, but based on spoilers.
And I think I know who will end up as part of the Black Council, if not leading it.
Justin.
Butcher is big on continuity, and any name, place, event, creature, spell or whatnot that's mentioned even in passing at one point in a book will likely become relevant in a later part of that book, or another book altogether. Justin's influence in Harry's life was immense, and obviously continues to the days of the stories, be it their duel (and his 'death') leading to the Doom of Damocles, or just Harry's recognition of the temptation of darker powers and his struggle not to give into those baser desires. I'm not saying this with 100% certainty, but he's one of the few background characters we've never actually had show up in one form or another that I can recall.
And finally, while I can't verify its authenticity, I just noticed on Wikipedia that names have been listed for a good half dozen future books.
Spoilered because... well, it seems to be the theme of this post.
Hell's Bells
Stars and Stones
Demon reach
Faerie Queens
Black Staff
Soul Fire
Swan Song
The End
If true, that gives us 9 more books to go. 10 if you include Side Jobs, 11 if you include Side Jobs 2 (which I believe was mentioned as being planned so Butcher could toss some things that didn't make it into SJ1 into print.
Or, perhaps a more fitting description would be the degree in which they are worshiped?
What do you guys think?
It's kind of hard to describe how quickly the book yanked my heartstrings in the last few pages.
And yet, two pages later.
JIM BUTCHER YOU SON OF A BITCH I CANNOT BREATHE
Probably because she's not a big fan of mystery novels. I'll eventually pick it up when I'm done with the First Law Trilogy, which is awesome.
It serves to do nothing more than lay the groundwork for some of the characters, most of which is moot since Butcher includes sufficient introduction for the characters in pretty much every book, to cover any readers who don't start at the very beginning.
Uh, Marcone is a crime lord. Good guy is off the menu at that point.
He's not evil, per say; He has a soft spot or two, and he is good to his word, but these are the more admirable characteristics in an otherwise cruel and ruthless criminal mastermind.
'sgot a nice gym, though
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Well, since you are in a thread full of Dresden fans, I'm going to say yes.
Besides,
Fantastic book though, the title is appropriate.
Jordan of Elienor, Human Shaman
winter
I was thinking the same thing when I first glanced at Fool Moon, but it was a LOT more entertaining than I was expecting.
Give it at least a few chapters before you give up on it.
Spoilers about Fool Moon ahead...
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Damnit, someone was talkin about it and screwed me up, haha.
Jordan of Elienor, Human Shaman
The first one just takes a while to pick up momentum.
I disagree! I also don't think that's especially germane.
And you don't see how this point is relevant to listening to a book on tape? Is that what you're saying?
(Small Favor)
You know?
Read it probably on the way home from the book store.
No man I didn't say it was coming out soon or nothing, where you get that idea?
Yaya, you carazy
I may be carazy but you're stuh-upid
Unless you are infact the silly goose.
i also interpreted it as "when the next book comes out in two hours, i am going to read it"
"gonna read the next book within two hours of it coming out" or something would have been less confusing
but ANYWAY the dresden files are awesome and harry is the man
i wanna see more of that island place already
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Uh, no, that isn't a fact. In most instances, excepting stuff like Pynchon, if you can't read your material aloud and have the same general impression that you got from the text, it's poorly written. Of course something can sound terrible when read aloud. That's like saying 'My shirt can sometimes be blue, fact!' I'm saying that if it sounds terrible, it is terrible.
I really don't see how it's relevant to what I'm saying, no. I'm saying that Butcher's commonly repeated phrases and chauvinist spiel get to be tiresome. Apparently that's not true in the text version of the book?
No it is true; and my main gripe with it